Which British pharmacy and beauty retailer was founded in 1849 in Nottingham? The answer is Boots.
Boots was established in Nottingham in 1849 by John Boot, who opened a shop selling herbal remedies. His business was aimed particularly at working-class customers and operated under the name British and American Botanic Establishment. The shop’s origins explain why Boots developed from a chemist and herbalist into a broad health-and-beauty retailer.
After John Boot died in 1860, his wife Mary continued the business. Their son Jesse Boot later expanded it by opening more shops, helping turn the local enterprise into a national chain. The company was incorporated as Boot and Co. in 1883 and became Boots Pure Drug Company in 1888.
Boots is often remembered only as a pharmacy, but its modern stores also sell cosmetics, toiletries, photography products and healthcare goods, with optician and other services in many locations. Another notable chapter came in the 1960s, when Boots researchers developed ibuprofen as a painkiller.